Hase-dera is a thousand-year-old temple devoted to Kannon, the goddess of mercy. At 30 feet, Kannon's imposing figure is the largest wooden sculpture in all of Japan. I confess I'd never heard of Kannon before, but apparently she's a representation of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara with eleven heads. You'll have to settle for that description, since photography was not allowed.

Nearby was the small Jizo temple, outside which thousands of tiny statuettes of the bodhisattva Jizo stand and pray for the souls of aborted, stillborn and miscarried children. No photos from me, but I found one elsewhere.

It was still early in the day (Taki wisely make me get up early for all this) so I wasn't all that tired, but the blazing sun and lackluster digital camera inspired the worst kind of tomfoolery. Most of the pictures I took at this site were created by deliberately angling the camera lens into the sunlight to create "cool" lighting effects. I doubt National Geographic will be calling anytime soon, but maybe you'll like 'em.

Must... create... cheesy... lens-flare...

It's a digital camera, yet somehow I'm using tungsten-balanced film.

All camera-tricks aside, that's some really impressive landscaping.